J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin

About J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin

J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin is a fragrance house based in Berlin. Its family history begins in 1856, and after a long dormancy the name was revived in 2012. Today the brand uses high-quality perfume oils in high concentrations, presented in minimalist bottles, to create fragrances that act as a mirror for modern Berlin.

Brand History

In 1856, piano maker Joachim Friedrich Schwarzlose founded a drug and colonial goods store near Gendarmenmarkt to secure a future for his eleven children. The company, J.F. Schwarzlose Söhne, became a Royal Purveyor in 1869 and gradually expanded from fine perfumes into other cosmetics. In 1902 it took over its competitor Treu & Nuglisch, moving production to a factory in Moabit, and the business later grew internationally, including exports to the Chinese imperial court. Werner Köthner took over in 1930 but fell victim to the reprisals of the Nazi regime in 1943. The factory lay in ruins at the end of the war. Anni Köthner rebuilt it in 1951. The company ceased operations in 1976 and was revived in 2012.

Revival and Approach

The revival was led by Lutz Herrmann, a perfume bottle designer who was drawn to the elegant simplicity and early modernity of the old Berlin house. Together with two partners, he relaunched it as J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin and now serves as its Creative Director. Perfumer Véronique Nyberg helped shape the revived collection, who discovered the brand through Herrmann and set out to give its 19th-century spirit a modern twist, bottling Berlin's past and present energy with precious natural materials.

Signature Fragrances

• *1A-33*: Named after the license plate code once carried by the delivery vehicles of the Moabit factory; the name is historical, but the scent is a contemporary creation.
• *Rausch*: Red pepper, patchouli and oud translate a night at a Berlin club into scent.
• *Altruist*: A fragrance based on a limited collaboration with Berlin artist Paul DeFlorian, moving from citrus and rose to dry woods.